$40 million debt takes bigger role in Mammoth budget deliberations

In the new agenda bill for the Mammoth Town Council meeting Wednesday, the budget discussion now involves Mammoth Lakes Land Acquisition unlike earlier budget documents that never mentioned them. MLLA is the company that holds the $40 million airport lawsuit judgment. At an earlier budget meeting the town manager said MLLA had concerns about decisions the Town Council might make on the budget. Now, it looks like the budget will accommodate the possibility of actual payments to MMLA.

Earlier the staff had recommended that money from Measures A and T go directly to departments for expenditure. MLLA had concerns about that. So, the staff has reversed its recommendation. The funds will go into the general fund. The implication is that these funds would remain available for payments to MLLA not for expenditures on tourism and marketing, workforce housing and transit. Although the agenda bill does not say that. It does say that the budget shortfall still sits at around $2.6 million.

The agenda bill on the budget says that the staff expects the budget the Town Council will approve by the end of June “will be interim, with interim funding commitments/ contracts. This is necessary,” says the agenda, “to ensure that the budget can be amended upon reaching a settlement agreement with Mammoth Lakes Land Acquisition.” After that, officials say, the Council can adopt a permanent budget and longer-term contracts will also be approved.

Also on Wednesday’s Town Council agenda, a public presentation from the National Park Service on the Devil’s Postpile Centennial Celebration. The Council will hold a public hearing on the zone code amendment for the sign code update. They will discuss the spring Measure R funding awards, TOT compliance and enforcement. The budget discussion is the last policy matter on the agenda.

The meeting starts at 4pm with a study session on budget format followed by a 5pm closed session on MLLA. The regular meeting starts at 6pm in Suite Z.

About Benett Kessler

Always interested in writing, Benett was the editor of her high school paper, proceeded to the University of Chicago and then out West where she and John Heston formed Eastern Sierra News Service in Inyo County. They fed film to KNXT in Los Angeles and co-wrote and produced the first daily radio news in the Eastern Sierra. Their work ranged from a published news magazine to the first television newscast. They continued to provide videotaped news to KABC and other news outlets. After a seat on the Mammoth Times board and work as newswriter, Benett formed her own company, Sierra Broadcasters and launched an FM radio station, now KSRW and a broadcast television station, KSRW-TV33. The latest addition - Sierrawave.net. Her company motto: Comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.